The Maple Leafs are rolling the dice in goal, and Tuesday’s start against the Utah Mammoth makes that clear.
Toronto is back home after a Western road trip that ended on a high note with a win over the Canucks, a result that helped steady things after back-to-back losses to Calgary and Seattle. The team is also working injured players back into the mix and experimenting with a new lineup, which could pay off - or backfire - if it doesn’t stick. For now, though, the biggest gamble sits in the crease.
The Leafs are scheduled to start Sergei Bobrovsky against Utah, even though Anthony Stolarz has been the steadier option. Bobrovsky gets the nod as Toronto tries to get him moving in the right direction, but it’s a move that comes with real risk. Stolarz started the first game against Utah, and that was his worst outing of the season, which may have played into the call.
Still, the matchup is a tough one for Bobrovsky. Utah owns the best power play in the league, and the Mammoth also draw a lot of penalties. If Toronto wants a cleaner version of Bobrovsky, staying out of the box has to be part of the plan.
The numbers tell the story plainly. Bobrovsky has allowed 16 goals over his last five games, including four against the Rangers and five against Seattle. Toronto was bailed out late in the Rangers game, and against Seattle he gave up a heartbreaking squeaker just seconds after the Leafs had climbed back from a two-goal deficit.
Stolarz, meanwhile, has done the opposite of wobble. He’s 5-1-0 with a 2.66 GAA and .910 SV%, while Bobrovsky sits at 3-5-2 with a 3.29 GAA and .885 SV%. The gap is hard to ignore.
Stolarz has been steady even when things have gotten messy, and he’s already taken a few hard runs without showing signs of slipping. Toronto clearly wants its $21M goaltender to find his game, and there’s reason to believe Bobrovsky can still sort it out as the season goes on.
The question is whether the Leafs can stay in the fight long enough for that to happen.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs Let A Vital Home Point Slip Over One Costly Mistake
Jack Roslovic did enough to give the Maple Leafs a chance, scoring both Toronto goals in a tight 3-2 loss to the Utah Mammoth at Scotiabank Arena. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 33 of 36 shots, and for long stretches the game looked like the kind of home effort that should at least have produced a point.
Instead, one late mistake changed the night. A penalty in the final stretch handed Utah a power play in a tied game, and the visitors made Toronto pay with the decisive goal. For a Leafs team trying to bank every point it can at home, it was the sort of lapse that lingers because the margin was so thin. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Still Need More From Darren Raddysh In One Key Area
Darren Raddysh has already shown he can help the Maple Leafs in a few different ways, and his early profile with the club reflects that. He is tied for third on the team in shots on goal, a sign that he is getting involved offensively, but his own focus has been broader than just finishing chances. After reflecting on his scoring last season, Raddysh said he is willing to contribute however he can to Torontos success, including in his own end.
Coach Jim Hiller has noticed the defensive work and the way Raddysh helps move the puck on the power play, which has been one of the teams strengths. The next step, though, is finding a little more assertiveness as a shooter, because the Leafs could use him to turn more of those looks into actual attempts. For a player trying to carve out a bigger role, that balance between supporting the attack and becoming more direct could matter as the season moves along. [Read more 🡒]
Leafs May Be Falling Behind In The Dylan Larkin Sweepstakes
The Dylan Larkin chatter around the league has taken on a new shape, and it is not one that favors Toronto. Minnesota has reportedly put together a serious trade pitch to Detroit for the Red Wings captain, one built around high-end prospects and a pile of future draft capital, which is the sort of package that can change a front offices thinking in a hurry. For the Maple Leafs, who have been monitoring the situation like everyone else, the issue is less about interest than about whether they can realistically match the kind of return another contender is lining up.
From Torontos perspective, this is where the market gets tricky. The Leafs have long been linked to star-level upgrades, but the assets needed to win a bidding war are not always there, and this one appears to be tilting toward a team with more flexibility. Nothing is settled and no agreement is in place, but if Detroit is weighing offers purely on upside and volume, Toronto may already be on the outside looking in. [Read more 🡒]